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The Fall

Series 2

DSI Stella Gibson continues to hunt serial killer Paul Spector in the second series of this smart psychological thriller. As Gibson tries to help Spector's surviving victim remember the identity of her attacker, Spector deals with loose ends that he left behind in Belfast. When he realizes that someone from his past has been helping the police with their inquires, Spector changes his plans with terrifying consequences.

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Oddly portrays serial killer as loving his children, a great dad. Major flaws in storyline - little girl meets killer in her house middle of the night and casually says, "who are you"? On a train, a woman shows her I.D. With her address to a strange man on a train (the killer) to prove to him that she used to be a brunette (his preferred type) but became a blond to avoid being killed.... The male writer Cubit creates Anderson's female character as a one-dimensional person with a very stiff style of talking similar to old-time male detectives. We only glimpse her other dimensions when the serial killer reads her diary in her hotel room and leaves a note. Absurd.

In the first episode of this second series Det. Stella Gibson says to her team "in order to do the terrible things he does, the killer dehumanizes his victims." The same could be said for creator, writer and director Allen Cubbit here in this overtly voyeuristic crime thriller. Though in real life, serial killers are almost exclusively found to be inadequates, Cubbit gives viewers a killer (played by former model Jamie Dornan) as a warm, successful family man, and then has us join him on his sadistic hobby of slowly murdering nubile brunettes.

Aside from showing the women from the killer's point of view before he pounces (of course they are doing sexy things like undressing) Cubbit also shows the women as basically asking for it with their careless behaviour. In one scene Dornan's character meets a woman on a train. She puts a newspaper with a photofit of the suspected serial murderer down on the table between them. He picks it up and shows it to her. He asks if it looks like him. [It sure does.] What does she say? She says yes. Is she creeped out? No. Because hey, hot guy. Just a coincidence yeah? He then proceeds to draw a beard on the picture to match the beard he has grown since he committed the murder. He shows that to her. Again, she's not creeped out. In fact she tells him she lives near one of the victims. Better yet she shows him her drivers license that has her address on it. What might a real woman do, not a fantasy woman like the writer creates? Well she could excuse herself, go into the hallway or bathroom and call the police, saying "I think I've just spotted the murderer on a train." But Cubbit wants to show women as dumb-clucks, worthy of their victim status.

In another scene, the killer visits in the hospital his one victim that avoided being murdered in the nick of time (a man intervened), pretending to be a therapist. Does she recognize his voice? Of course not. It's not like she would remember a detail that happened during her most terrifying moment on earth. And though she is supposedly suffering from PTSD, she tells this strange man incredibly intimate things. Of course she had posted sexy pictures of herself online, including a video saying she was into bondage and "had a high threshold for pain." She asks, "do you think he saw it and targeted me?" Well, dear viewer, what do you think?

For laughs (yes, I'm being sarcastic) Cubbit mentions that a policeman that Det. Gibson slept with and was subsequently killed, was found with scratch marks on his back, that the pathologist suggests were made during sex. I can only think that Cubbit's idea of sex was formed in the '50s or '60s because that is SO backwards it's pathetic.

There is so much misogyny here, it is hard to keep count. Professionally done (albeit incredibly slowly - so much less dialogue to write) but morally vacuous.

The Fall is a three season series about a British investigator who is brought in to Belfast, Ireland to solve the murder of a prominent politician's daughter. What she discovers is that there is a serial rapist and murderer at large. Much of season 1 is Stella (the investigator) trying to get the police to consider the crimes linked and declare a serial killer at large. We also see the killer stalking and murdering his victims as well as dealing with issues at home with his wife and two kids. Eerily accurate look into the mind of a serial killer and the people who hunt them. Season 2 follows the hunt for and capture of the serial killer, Peter Paul Spector. Season 3 (now airing) shows the arduous path to trial as Spector claims amnesia for the period of time covering the murders. But Stella and her team discover 9 more murders from a decade earlier which are not covered by his supposed amnesia. Smart detective work.

The Fall's second series is great, yet not as brilliant and groundbreaking as it's first. Gillian Anderson still shines in her role as Stella Gibson and Jamie Dornan's Paul Spector, endlessly creepy. This installment is chock full of "You have got to be kidding me! NO WAY!!" moments. Most definitely a great watch for those cold, dark nights!

stepnorth
Jun 12, 2016

I enjoyed the second season of this series, but felt it could of been wrapped up a lot quicker. Dragged a little bit, teenage "love interest" was somewhat unbelievable and Jillian Anderson's character so understated I thought she might doze off at some point. Not sure where this series will go from here, but I will plug on to season 3.

I really enjoyed the second series. Episode 4 when the house flooded, Paul enters the house, leaving his family outside and Paul goes to the power box and turns off the power. He roams around the house with a flash light. Episode 5 Paul is walking around in his bare feet (the place is a disaster) and then he puts a record on the player. How can he play music with the power off? I re-played this segment.....still mystified!! Time to move on.... The series keeps me interested until the end. I look forward to a third series.